Paul Wellens will kick off his new career in the pack tomorrow.
It's a change forced on him because of the dazzling form of new full-back rival Jonny Lomax. But it's a move that coach Nathan Brown admits would have had many other players spitting their dummy out.
He said: "There would have been plenty of other players, who have achieved what Wello has achieved, who could have made it very difficult. "A lot of older players do not handle this sort of thing because their positions become sacred.
"But it's credit to Wello that he's not so single-minded on playing the position he's played the whole of his career. "He is a St Helens boy, has played for Saints for 15 years and is just happy to do what is best for the team."
Wellens, 33, is one of only three men to win the Man of Steel, Lance Todd Trophy and Harry Sunderland Trophy. But a calf injury last month led to 22-year-old scrum-half Lomax being moved to full-back with astonishing results. Lomax has scored seven tries, convincing Brown that he's got a new gem on his hands.
Wellens, who faces Salford tomorrow, has accepted that his future now probably lies at loose forward. But the former Great Britain star insists he doesn't bear a grudge towards Lomax. He said: "People can presume that you don't want players to do well when they replace you.
"But I haven't been sat in the stands with a Lomax voodoo doll sticking pins in him. It doesn't surprise me to see him do well."